{"id":294085,"date":"2023-11-04T06:39:30","date_gmt":"2023-11-04T06:39:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=294085"},"modified":"2023-11-04T06:39:30","modified_gmt":"2023-11-04T06:39:30","slug":"broken-heels-lost-bets-and-racing-protesters-punters-flock-to-derby-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/horse-racing\/broken-heels-lost-bets-and-racing-protesters-punters-flock-to-derby-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Broken heels, lost bets and racing protesters: Punters flock to Derby Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

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As a sea of punters dressed in black and white walked through the members\u2019 entrance at Flemington on Saturday for Derby Day, one woman lost a heel from her shoe and abandoned it at the gates.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s too early in the day for that!\u201d she laughed.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

James O\u2019Shea and Marita Ramia enjoy their first time at Flemington.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Chris Hopkins<\/cite><\/p>\n

After all, the intoxicated antics of the crowd can be more entertaining than the horses during the spring racing carnival.<\/p>\n

Over in general admission, Kerryn and David Messina were a bit more refined as they gave the Birdcage marquees a run for their money with their set-up.<\/p>\n

The pair were perched in a corner on camping chairs in front of a portable table, topped with their own charcuterie board.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy husband\u2019s Italian so we\u2019ve got the salami, the cheeses, the bread, the wine,\u201d Kerryn said.<\/p>\n

It was Kerryn\u2019s first Derby Day, which she loved for the fashion \u2013 especially the girls with their \u201cgorgeous frocks\u201d. Asked what his strategy was for punting, David responded: \u201cTo win.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was an unsuccessful strategy in race three, though the couple did not seem fazed. There is always another race.<\/p>\n

Over on the grass trackside, attendees aged in their early to mid-twenties had taken over.<\/p>\n

Beer cans were spilling, pictures were being taken for social media, and the young punters were feeling the effects of the sun.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Kerryn and David Messina had no luck on race 3 at Flemington Racetrack on Derby Day.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Chris Hopkins<\/cite><\/p>\n

It was a particularly special day for Queenslanders Marita Ramia and James O\u2019Shea, who had flown down from Toowoomba in honour of O\u2019Shea\u2019s late father, David, a famed race caller known as the \u201cvoice of the Darling Downs\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy father did a tour to the Melbourne Cup until his passing in 2015,\u201d O\u2019Shea said. \u201cHe led over 20 years of tours [to the spring racing carnival]. Ironically, I never got the chance to do it, so now getting that chance it\u2019s pretty special.\u201d<\/p>\n

One group of regular attendees during racing season are the animal rights protesters that gather outside. This year, attendees waiting to cross the road to enter the grounds greeted them with grimacing faces.<\/p>\n

Seven or so protesters organised by the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses held signs high above their heads, which included the names of over 100 race horses that had died that year.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Protestors campaign against the racing industry on Derby Day.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Chris Hopkins<\/cite><\/p>\n

A passer shouted out of his car, accusing the group\u2019s director, Elio Celetto, of wearing leather shoes. He yelled back, \u201cThey\u2019re plastic!\u201d<\/p>\n

Celetto reckoned they had copped more abuse than usual for that time of day, but was still hopeful that track attendance during the carnival would continue its trend of decline.<\/p>\n

For the tens of thousands attending on Derby Day, those hopes were falling on deaf ears.<\/p>\n

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